Real look to stamp authority on title race with Clasico victory

If they do that, we could look back at the match as the start of Real Madrid running away with their first La Liga title since 2012.

Are they the favorites? Pique has recently hit out at the “worrying attitude” of his team after a draw with Real Sociedad last weekend and they will definitely need to sort out their mentality to get a result against the league leaders.

Should Barcelona win this game, it would be their 50th victory over Real Madrid at home in La Liga.

Zidane has had an unbelievable start in his first senior coaching job, winning the Champions League after just a few months in charge, and with his team now 32 games unbeaten in all competitions. Despite leading Barca to successive league titles and a Champions League during his two and a bit seasons in charge, the Spaniard is not adored in the same way as some of his predecessors (especially Guardiola). The Brazilian started in the 6-1 win over Cultural Leonesa on Wednesday and now looks set to feature against Barcelona. Yet, the boss is confident his side can respond to the recent disappointments by securing the three points when their arch-enemies visit the Nou Camp on Saturday (3 December). If I had to choose a favourite player, I would definitely choose him.

Meanwhile, Barcelona is not in their best shape as they have struggled with consistency this season. And being at home is just another motivating factor. “In a game like this one, what happens on the field has little to do with the league table”.

“People want to see a good football match and the most important thing for us is to stay focused on the job we have to do”.

He said: “I’m not focusing on how they played in their last game, it will be a completely different performance. They take advantage of dead balls, have few touches and are effective with decisive players in final third”. “We don’t think about drawing, winning or losing, we think about giving our best and the result is a outcome”.

“It’ll be a hard match, it’s going to be very tough. There are many great teams around but no-one is better than us”, Enrique told a news conference.

“Casemiro is with us, I am happy to have him with us, we know what he can do, how important he is”, he said. “Madrid have players of great quality so we have to pay special attention no matter who plays”.

“Zidane has managed the squad very well, we have the best squad in the world and you can only achieve an unbeaten run like ours with a strong squad”, said Real winger Lucas Vazquez.

Saviola played for Barca while Messi was making waves with the youth team prior to making his debut in 2004.

Barcelona has been struggling without the midfielder, and another setback could leave the team nine points behind and in a hard position to fight for the title.